Joseph J. Altmann

28Dec

Army SSG Joseph J. Altmann’s plans and dreams were coming together: He married in February, re-enlisted in October for another four years of service and expected to return by this March from a deployment in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, his father, John, said.

His wife, Nikki, planned to quit her Texas-based job with a charter air transport company serving armed forces personnel when Altmann ended this deployment, his father said Tuesday. Then the young couple could live together and start a family.

But the couple’s plans abruptly ended on Christmas Day.

Altmann, 27, died Sunday of injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his unit in Kunar province, a mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan. His parents were notified around 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

“Christmas will never be the same in the Altmann home,” his father said. “He will be sadly missed.”

The family is “devastated,” even though they knew the risks Altmann faced by re-enlisting, his mother, Janice, said.

“As a mother, you worry about your child no matter what they do,” she said, “but we talked about it, and we supported his decision 110%.”

Late Tuesday, Nikki Altmann was to accompany her husband’s parents on a flight from Minneapolis to Dover, Del. Joseph Altmann’s body was scheduled to arrive there Wednesday from Afghanistan and will be flown to Wisconsin later in the week.

Altmann, a combat medic and Marshfield native, previously served two tours of duty in Iraq.

He is the 29th Wisconsin resident to die while serving in Afghanistan and the 10th this year.

He was a 2003 graduate of Columbus Catholic High School in Marshfield, where he played multiple sports.

“He was not a superstar,” his father said. “He just played his heart out.” That was his son’s approach to life, he said.

Altmann was a popular student who enjoyed getting together with friends, his mother said.

“He just lit up a room,” she said. “He was always bright and bubbly, always in a good mood.”

After trying college for a year, Joseph Altmann decided to enlist in the Army.

“He wanted to be a medic,” his father said. “He loved to do it.”

The family was not surprised he became a medic. Altmann’s grandfather, Jim, had nicknamed him “the surgeon” because he was always the first one in their hunting group to offer to dress a deer, and his work showed “surgical” skills, his father said.

“Joe really, really loved the job he was doing,” his mother said. “He was so proud to stand next to the men he served with.”